By AMANDA FARINOS

Juan Cruz is an animated guy. Sit at the counter of his Stuart restaurant, the casual Aloha Cafe, and he will chat you up with all sorts of stories, keeping you company while you watch him cook.

Three years after finishing culinary school, Cruz was surprised by a letter from Hawaii, and learned he had a half-brother who’d been searching for Cruz for years. The families met in Hawaii, and the brothers became close friends.

That trip, and Cruz’s experiences with his long-lost brother, inspired him to open the cafe, a place where he serves breakfast and lunch dishes with influences from Hawaii and Kentucky, where Cruz was raised.

Here you can have biscuits and gravy or fried rice for breakfast, or experience something of a Southern/island fusion with the Loko Moko ($7): a mound of rice and hamburger patties topped with fried eggs and sausage gravy.

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David Harrow’s job is on the line. If he wants to make probation with the Stuart Fire Department he has to get… a lot of votes.

Harrow (right) prepares Firehouse Penne on Live with Regis and Kelly.

Votes for his Firehouse Penne recipe. The one that has landed him a spot this morning on the Live with Regis and Kelly show.

The morning show is conducting a coast-to-coast Fire House Cook-Off and Harrow’s made the cut.

You can see Harrow and the other contestants here, watch their videos, and vote. David’s up against five other firefighters and their recipes:

Buffalo Chicken Lasagne from Chicago.
Smothered Buffalo Chicken Toes over Dirty Rice from Oviedo, Florida.
Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup out of San Jose.
And Lemon Chicken Pasta from Miamisburg, Ohio.

And I thought a Fire House cook-off would be ripe with chili.

Nope.
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Greenspan (left): Thanks, boss! (AP Photo)

While Tiger Woods has been slightly south of respectful to his wife, it sure seems his help has been getting the royal treatment.

The soon-to-be Jupiter Island resident has been giving even to his publicist, under whose watch Woods’ once-sterling image took a tumble at supersonic speed.

The No. 1 golfer in the world last year handed spokesman Glenn Greenspan a low-interest mortgage of about $1 million so that Greenspan could buy a home in fancy Sewall’s Point, near Stuart.

Nice boss!

According to Martin County records, Greenspan received $958,000 from Woods’ ETW corporation in August 2008, at a sweetheart rate of 2.540 percent. Greenspan has another year to pay Woods back, according to the paperwork.

“I can’t talk,” said Greenspan, whose job it is to talk.

Coming to a supermarket checkout line (AP Photo)

Just about every public relations professional worth his soundbite is scoffing at how badly Woods and his image-creating staff bungled the aftermaths of the golfer’s infamous accident.

Instead of getting out front of what made the No. 1 golfer in the world an instant tabloid target and the butt of jokes, Woods has been holed up in his Windermere mansion. He has communicated with his fans through his website. And there were days of a deafening silence, fueling rumors that a spat with wife Elin Nordegren over his alleged infidelities played a role in the crash.

So, has Greenspan been too soft on his boss? Did he give him bad advice? Could be both.

“Whether there’s $1 million or a $200-fee, any PR person aware of the money,” said local crisis public relations man Gary Schweikhart. “But no matter what, no matter how much you’re making, you have to be blunt with a client in trouble. Tell him the truth, the worst case scenario, not what he wants to hear. You need to control the story, not allow the story to control you.”

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

George Hart, owner of the Mulligan’s Beach House Bar & Grill in Jensen Beach and Vero Beach, is leasing the site of the now closed The Ashley restaurant and opening a third Mulligan’s.

“February first — that’s when we plan to open,” he said. “We’re doing a complete remodel. We’re putting sliding glass doors around the exterior I like a lot of doors so people can come in any door they want we’re moving the bar to the corner the way it is in Jensen, and I’m going to appeal to the City Commission to get an outside patio.”

“This is going to be a Mulligan’s,” he said.
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MENU

Northern and Southern Italian, with a nice wine list and homemade pasta specials. Many dishes are topped with fresh herbs.

ATMOSPHERE

Tucked into an Old Florida home just south of the Roosevelt Bridge, Casa Bella is one of the most charming places to have dinner in Martin County. Lace curtains, candlelight and white tablecloths add romance, and a skylight allows tropical plants to grow inside. For the most privacy, try to get one of three tables tucked into a cozy room at the back of the restaurant. 

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